Precious is Life
by Aussiepupluvr
Summary: While on a routine mission things go as routine for SG-1 as normal. Jack and Daniel find out about the planets history a little more then they would like.
1. Feelings are everything

Disclaimer: Oh so not mine.

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He didn't have a clue what he was currently looking at. All he knew was that it had a flat bottom and was kind of oval shaped. The top had a long slit in it with one end being slightly larger. The boat thing-y, which is what he decided to call it, was hollow inside. It was the color of wet mud with little white dots all along the sides. He needed to use two hands to hold onto it, and for the life of him he couldn't figure out what it could have been for. As if reading his thoughts a voice came from behind him.

"It was used to hold the blood of someone that had been sacrificed." Jack jumped and hastily put the boat thing-y down from where he had picked it up. "Blood. You don't say?" Daniel just gave him a little smirk not even turning his head to look at him as he fiddled around with some other pot looking thing. "So, what cha lookin' at?" Jack said as he came over by Daniel, trying to get as far away from the blood boat thing-y that he felt he appropriately re-named. He couldn't help but glance back at it every so often as Daniel went on about what he had found and what he thought the natives of this planet had been like. He wanted to make sure that the blood boat thing-y was going to stay where he put it.

Again as if sensing what Jack was thinking Daniel's words cut through his thoughts. "You don't have to worry Jack. It's just a Salepter. It's not going to jump out at you and drain your blood." He said this in his very innocent voice that said, 'I'm mocking you, but your not suppose to know.' Jack just glared at Daniel knowing that it wouldn't have any effect, but making him feel slightly better as he replied. "Sale's what?"

"Sal-ep-ter. The jar that holds the sacrificers blood. The part that you would have needed to worry about is the Pontiar. It's the knife looking instrument with what looks like a drain slash straw on the other end. The priests would stab you with the knife end, obviously, and then let the blood, well, drain down into the Salepter."

Jack just stared at his friend. He really didn't want to know how Daniel knew all these things. Looking around he hadn't seen anything so far that looked like the Pointy thing so he figured he was safe. Looking at Daniel he saw that his friend was already engrossed with something new. Leaving his friend to play with all his new treasures, that there was no way in this world or any other that he would allow to go back through the Gate with him, Jack grabbed his radio to get in contact with Carter and Teal'c. "Carter, this is O'Neill how do you read?"

"Carter here sir. How's everything on your end?" Carter had a edge of humor in her voice that Jack could have done without. She and Teal'c had seen the room of Daniel treasures before they went to gather her soil samples, so she knew exactly how Jack was doing. "Oh just peachy Carter. Just peachy." Jack replied as dryly as he could. This was suppose to be an easy relaxed mission. Let Daniel look, not play with, just look at all the ancient toys and let Carter dig in her dirt to see if she could find any traces of Naquada. They had been here for a day and a half and Jack was getting a little, well to say the least, bored. "You find anything interesting yet Carter?"

"Not exactly sir. We found a few traces of Naquada in some of the samples, but not enough in one area to consider it a valuable find." There was a hint of disappointment in her voice. Jack could understand that to a degree. If they had found a good source of Naquada they would be able to put themselves in a position to win the war against the Goa'uld. Though on the other hand if they had then Carter would be hidden away in her lab for who knows how long working on plans for things to use the Naquada for. Jack knew that Carter and Daniel were geeks at heart. They liked to do their scientist-y things every now and then. Thats why he put up with these missions every once in a while. Let them have some fun doing what they do best. But above all else, they were a first contact, front of the line, combat unit. Jack liked to actually be doing something. Sitting around fishing during down time was one thing. Sitting around watching Daniel talk to himself in who knows how many languages as he shifts through junk? Not his idea of fun.

"Well I'll give you till dinner time then we'll pack it up and head home." The General had actually given them till tomorrow morning but Jack wanted out of here as soon as possible.

"Copy that sir. Though are you going to be able to drag Daniel away from his treasures?"

"Oh he'll come Carter. He'll come. Hey Teal'c, you there?"

"Where else would I be O'Neill?"

"Very funny T. Have you noticed anything different about this place?"

"What do you mean by different O'Neill?"

"I don't know, strange?" Jack had had a bad feeling in his gut when they had all gotten up this morning but had not been able to place why. There was nothing living on the planet, well none that the UAV had detected, and he hadn't felt this way yesterday. 'Maybe it was spending all that time with Daniel in the room full of things that could kill you' Jack thought to himself. 'That would certainly do it.'

"I have not seen anything out of the ordinary O'Neill" Teal'c replied. There was something in the way that Teal'c had said that that had the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. "Have you felt something out of the ordinary then?"

"I do not know. It feels as if there is someone watching us. When I turn to look, I see nothing and the feeling of being watched is gone. It is most, disturbing." For Teal'c to admit something was disturbing that meant there was something very wrong with this planet. "Okay Teal'c, I don't need to tell you to keep an eye out. We only have about a half hour till dinner time then we'll all meet at the camp site. After that we're out a here." Jack wished he could pack everyone up and high tail it back to the Gate now. But Carter hadn't mentioned feeling anything out of the ordinary and he was going to have a hard enough time as it was getting Daniel to leave the night before they were suppose to. "Carter did you copy that?"

"Yes sir, I copy."

"Good, stay close to Teal'c will ya. Just to be on the safe side. O'Neill out." Now that he had the easy part over with it was time to face the bull dog with his room full of bones and tell him one, he couldn't take any of them with and two, that he had to leave them earlier then planned. 'Great, just great, I'm going to get chewed to pieces in there. Oh well, it's not like it's the first time and it most certainly wont be the last. Perfect O'Neill now your talking to yourself, you have been spending to much time with the bull dog in there. Though at least it's all in your head and not out loud like some people.' Jack just laughed to himself as he headed into the room to face the music.

"Okay Daniel, time to pack it up." Jack said as cheerfully as he could. Maybe if he kept things on the happy go lucky side Daniel wouldn't put up to much of a fuss.

"But Jack there are so many things that I haven't even looked at yet. Let alone studied." Daniel exclaimed.

Oh who was he kidding. He knew there was no way Daniel was leaving this room without a fight the second he saw it. But he also knew that arguing and getting confrontational about it wasn't going to get him anywhere either. Daniel had learned a lot over the years, especially the listening part. He was proud of the way Daniel had, in a way, grown up. He could hold his own in a fight and Jack didn't have to worry, as much, about him. If they were in trouble Daniel wouldn't argue, as much, about how Jack planned on getting them out of it. But then there were the times when Daniel was, well, Daniel. He was a Archeologist, Anthropologist, and Linguist at heart, and nothing Jack did or said was going to change that. Jack wouldn't change that for any world. Ever since Daniel had come back from being all glow-y, he hadn't wanted anything or anyone to change what made Daniel who he was. Being Daniel was what made his best friend the man that he was. But there were certain times that those qualities drove Jack insane. Like now, all the time that Jack had been thinking about his friend, Daniel had been going on about the reasons why they should stay.

"Daniel, I said before that we were going to pack it up and head back to the camp site at dinner time. Thats what time it is." Daniel opened his mouth to argue but Jack held his finger up to stop him. "Ah ah. When we get back if the General decides that it's worth coming back to study all this then fine. I'll let you come back and stay till your hearts content. But until such decision is made, lets go."

As Jack and Daniel walked down the hallways the feeling Jack had before was coming back at full force. "Daniel, do you feel anything out of place?"

"Like there's something around every corner waiting for us?"

"What? You feel it too?"

"Darn it." Daniel mumbled, "I was hoping that it was just me."

"What! Why didn't you say anything?"

"Well, like I said, I had hoped that it was just my imagination." Daniel said trying to defend himself. Jack sighed frustratedly, "I can tell you without a doubt, it's not. Even Teal'c has felt that somethings wrong."

"Well I'm sorry okay? Let's just catch up with the other's." Daniel said trying to stop a fight before it could start.

"Fine with me." Jack said as they both rounded the corner that would take them outside of the structure. "Umm, Daniel I think that we may have a problem."

"Yes Jack, I think you may be right in that observation." They looked behind and realized they had no where to go. They were trapped in the front and in the back by to many spears to count.

"_Oh yeah_. Well Danny boy this day just keeps getting better and better. Doesn't it?"

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AN: I love to read and write but this is the first story I've ever let anyone else read. So if you feel so inclined, let me know what you think and if I should continue the story. Thanks :-)


	2. What may happen

Disclaimer: Oh so not mine.

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Sam and Teal'c had been back at camp for close to a half hour. They were almost finished with packing up all the supplies. "So Teal'c, how much longer do you think we should give the Colonel before we send for back up?" Sam joked.

"I believe we should give O'Neill another fifteen minutes, then see if he need's help in persuading Daniel Jackson." Teal'c replied with a hint of a smile on his face. Sam just laughed as she continued to put her supplies in her bag.

It took another twenty minutes to get everything back in its proper place. As they put the last bag in the pile, they realized they had not heard from either of their other teammates since the Colonel had told them to meet back at the camp site at dinner time. They looked in the direction of the building Jack and Daniel were in. They couldn't see it from where they were due to the tree's and hill's, but you could see at least a quarter of a mile. There was no one insight. Sam looked at Teal'c as she reached for her radio. "Colonel, do you copy?" Static was all they heard in reply.

"Colonel, Daniel, it's Carter do you read me?" Sam anxiously asked. Still there was no reply. "All right Teal'c, let's head in that direction and see why they're not answering."

"Do you think something may have happened Major Carter?"

"I hope not Teal'c. But you never know with those two." With that they headed out.

As they topped the last hill they could see the building. Everything looked like it had the last time they had been there. The only thing that was different was that the air had an almost eerie feeling to it. "So is this what you were feeling before?"

"It is indeed." Teal'c replied as he seemed to look everywhere at once.

"Colonel, do you copy?" Sam decided to try one more time. All she got was static once again. "Okay then, let's head down and see what's going on."

They approached the building, that Daniel had described must have been some kind of meeting hall, with as much caution and anticipation as they would if they were going into battle with a Goa'uld. As Sam neared the front, Teal'c went to the side to search around back. Sam reached the entrance opening and what she found was not what she was hoping for. She knelt down and felt with two fingers the dark reddish stain. It was still wet. There were two separate stains. The only good thing she could see from this was that both blood stains were smaller then the palm of her hand. So Sam took a guess that if the blood was from her missing teammates, they must have been hit over the head.

"Major Carter there is nothing around the other side of the structure." Teal'c said as he knelt down beside her. He also felt the stain's. "This is still fresh, possibly an hour old." He stated as he stood. Sam stood as well and looked around.

"Did you notice anything out of the ordinary?"

"I did not." Teal'c looked at the ground, "There is signs of a struggle here. But there is no foot prints going in any direction."

"There has to be something. Let's keep looking, go in a grid search pattern out from here. You go to the right, I'll go left. Keep your eye's open for anything. Go for about quarter of a mile. If we don't find anything we'll head back to the Gate for back up. And Teal'c, be careful."

"Yes Major Carter. You to." And with that they headed out.

* * *

"Ow, Ow, Owww. Man what the," Jack tried to roll on to his back but found that he couldn't for his hands were tied behind him. He pushed himself up so that he could sit against the wall. Looking to his left he saw Daniel laying next to him. "Daniel, wake up." While Jack said this he pushed Daniel with his leg. Daniel moaned and squinted his eyes. As Daniel stirred Jack looked around. They were in a stone cell with a dirt floor. It was about ten by eight in size and the door was steel bars at least two inches thick. No window's either. 'Great, just great. Were not going anywhere, anytime soon'. Jack thought to himself. Daniel had managed to get himself up and was leaning on the wall next to him.

"Alright, what happened?"

"We got knocked out and kidnapped. That's what happened." Jack sarcastically said.

"Oh. So business as usual then?" Daniel asked sweetly. Jack just stared at him wondering if it was himself or Daniel that had got their head hit to hard.

"What do you remember?" Jack asked.

"Walking toward the entrance and being surrounded by people in skirts with spear's. Not being able to understand their gibberish and then being hit over the head. Next thing I know is I'm trapped in a room with you. Now tell me, is this what you remember, and is this not what normally happens to us?"

"Yes, and yes." Jack admitted. Not that he wanted to but Daniel had a point. If anyone could get kidnapped it would be them. "Well any suggestions?"

"Aren't you the one that's suppose to get us out of these type's of situations?" Daniel looked at Jack like he had lost his mind.

"You're the one that got us in this situation so that means you get to find a way to get us out of it."

"What. How did you come to that conclusion!" Daniel was completely confused.

"You spent way to much time playing with your toys." Jack said matter-of-factly.

"Oh right. Since I left when you asked me to I can totally see your point." Daniel raised his eyebrow at Jack in an imitation of Teal'c. It seemed to work as Jack just sighed, rolled his eyes and stared at the door without comment.

"I guess we'll just have to see if we can figure out what these skirt wearing people want. Hopefully at some point we can get out of here. And if we can't we wait for Carter and Teal'c."

"So basically we play guest to our not so gracious hosts and hope they don't kill us before we can find a way out or we're rescued. That's your plan. Right?"

"Yep."

"Yeah. Great."

As they sat there they could hear the sound of feet marching toward them.

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AN: Thank you all so much! I had to write another chapter after reading what you all said. It's not quite as long as the last but I'll work on getting more soon. Thank you again for letting me know what you thought :-)


	3. Decision making

Disclaimer: Oh so not mine.

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"I have found nothing to indicate where they may have disappeared to. Have you had any luck Major Carter?" Teal'c asked as the Major arrived back at the structure a short time after him.

"No nothing. There isn't one single track. Not one single broken branch. Not one single anything! How can two men just disappear? And don't say by ship. I don't even want to think about that. And besides, wouldn't we have seen or at least heard something like that?" Sam had finally ran out of breath. She had been staring off into the tree line, hoping that she would spot something, anything they had originally missed.

"If a ship had been here we would indeed have heard something. But I do not believe that to be the case. There are marks inside the structure. Come." Teal'c lead Sam inside about twenty five feet. "These are from the boot's of O'Neill and Daniel Jackson. And these are ours from when we were here. But these here are from someone wearing sandals. And there are many of them." As Teal'c showed Sam she could see that there was an incredible amount of foot prints. If someone had taken the Colonel and Daniel there seemed to have been enough to cause some serious harm if that was what they intended.

"Alright Teal'c, I don't like this but we need to go back for reinforcements. We have no idea how many were dealing with, which direction they went, or what condition the Colonel and Daniel may be in. Lets double time it to the Gate and get back as soon as possible and start searching again."

"Indeed. I do not like the idea of leaving them here. But you have a valid point. Let us leave immediately."

Sam and Teal'c took off at a quick jog towards the Gate. Both hoping that they would be able to get back and find their teammates, before something happened to them.

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"So are we pretending that 'we like it here and we don't want to leave the cell' or are we going for more of the 'I'm confused but we can still be friends if you don't kill me approach'?" Jack just blankly stared back at Daniel. "Well do you want me to try to figure out their language or not? It sounds like their getting pretty close so make up your mind fast."

"Fine, let's play _nice_ with the skirt wearing natives who already clonked us over the head _once_ today."

'Great Jack's in a sarcastic mood. Just what we need'. Daniel thought. 'If I can't figure out how to communicate with these people and Jack starts up, who knows what could happen. Just the tone of his voice could send them over the edge. Though I can't really blame him, if his head hurts as much as mine then he's got every right to be pissed off. Let's just hope he doesn't piss them off too bad.'

They both looked up as someone approached the door. 'At least he's fully clothed'. The thought ran through both their minds as they glanced at each other. The man said something that even Jack and Daniel could tell was an order. A second later another man stood in front of the door, this one with a skirt, and unlocked it. The first man yet again gave an order, the second one bowed and moved to the side. There were at least five other skirt wearing spear holding men that had moved to stand behind the man that was fully dressed. As the man opened the door and walked in Jack and Daniel could tell instantly he had to be the head honcho. The way he was dressed and the way he held himself stated there was no one higher. Jack and Daniel took a second to glance at each other. The same though once again ran thru their minds. This time the thought was, '_Oh. Crap_'.

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AN: Sorry it's so short. I'm posting as I write and this wouldn't leave my head till I got it down. Since I wrote it I figured I'd post it too. I thought I'd better stop here though. It's late and if I write to late my head goes in directions I don't always plan for it to. Hope you all like it and thank you so much to those who have reviewed! It means so much to know someone is enjoying it! Thanks again.


	4. So, now what

Disclaimer: Oh so not mine.

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The man that stood in front of them had a burgundy colored robe on that almost touched the floor. He had a golden sash tied around his waist and a gold crown upon his head. He stood there and stared at them in silence for a good minute before Jack couldn't take it anymore. "So, now what."

The second after Jack spoke the man yelled and three of the men in the hall ran in and pointed their spear's at Jack and Daniel. While Daniel glared at him, Jack just grimaced and shrugged his shoulders. The man looked right at Daniel and spoke in a language Daniel couldn't understand. The man tried again. This time he spoke in a different tongue. One that Daniel did understand. Daniel answered him and that started up a conversation between the two.

Jack sat and watched them, wishing the three skirt men would put their spear's down now that their leader was communicating with them. But no such luck seemed to come. After a few minute's of the leader talking with Daniel he barked out an order and the four men left, one locking the door on the way. Once they could no longer hear the echo of the feet Jack turned to Daniel. "So, now what?" Daniel took a deep breath and continued to stare at the door. "Daniel? Hello? Anyone home? What did you and the head honcho guy blabber about?"

This time Daniel turned and looked at Jack. There was something in Daniel's eyes that Jack didn't have the opportunity to see very often. And he considered that a good thing, because what he saw was fear. Daniel didn't do the whole, I'm scared thing. It wasn't him, so for this guy to have put that look in his best friends eyes in less then five minutes? Oh boy were they in trouble. "Daniel, what is it?"

"He said we were trespassing on sacred ground."

"What, the meeting hall thing we were in with all the old rock's?"

"Artifact's. And yes. Though apparently it was more then a meeting hall. It was a Temple."

"_And, so, therefore_?" Jack had reached the end of his patience. He wanted this to be over. He wanted to be back through the Gate already. He didn't want to have to see that look in Daniel's eyes.

"_And_, with us being in there we violated their laws. _So_, we have to be held accountable for what we did." Daniel paused for a minute to take another breath while once again turning to stare at the door. Jack just waited, knowing that what Daniel said would determine what they did next. "_Therefore_, we're to be executed."

"What. No trial?"

"No trial."

"Didn't you tell him, 'Sorry we didn't mean to, if you let us go we'll never do it again. If you let us go, we'll never come back?"

"Yes Jack, I did. He didn't want to hear it. Seem's their laws are concrete. You know the saying, 'you break it, you buy it?"

"Yeah?"

"Well with these laws it more along the lines of, 'you break it, you pay for it, with your life. No exceptions. Only the guarantee that your life will be forfeit."

"So basically you're saying, ignorance is not an excuse for breaking the law. Right?"

"Exactly."

"Great."

"You want to know something else?"

"Oh yes please, do tell me more." Jack answered as sarcastically as he could. Daniel didn't seem to notice. He still hadn't looked away from the door either.

"Do you remember, when we were in the Temple, and you were playing with the Salepter?"

"Oh don't tell me."

"They apparently still practice that way of life." Daniel said his voice almost devoid of any emotion at all.

"I said, don't tell me." Jack on the other hand had enough emotion to last both of them a week.

"You asked, you said, 'oh yes please, do tell me more.' Besides I just thought you would like to have an idea about how we're going to be executed. Well, I guess it's technically more like sacrificed." Daniel had that awe of talking about other culture's starting to seep into his voice.

"Daniel."

"Jack."

"No more talking. Got it."

"Yes Jack."

There was silence in the cell. Jack trying not to think about being stabbed and bleeding to death, and Daniel was thinking about how many other cultures had similar practices. They sat in silence for a good minute before Jack couldn't take it anymore, "So, now what?"

* * *

Sam and Teal'c had been jogging for almost an hour. They still had a mile to go. As they stopped for a break Sam began to wonder yet again if they had done the right thing, "Teal'c, was this the right decision? Should we have stayed and tried harder to find something to indicate what may have happened, or at least a direction that they may have went in?"

"No Major Carter, we have made the right decision. Even if we did know the answer to those questions, we would most likely still need assistance in retrieving O'Neill and Daniel Jackson from those that hold them."

"Your right Teal'c. I just don't like the idea of going back to the Gate when we don't have a clue where they are."

"Do not worry Major Carter. Daniel Jackson has proven time and again that he can take care of himself, as has O'Neill. They will be fine. I am sure of it."

"Right again Teal'c. Daniel's probably already made friends with them and the Colonel, well, he's probably annoying them to no end. Okay let's get going. One more mile to go."

As they set off toward the Stargate they didn't know what faced their teammates. They couldn't have imagined if they tried.

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AN: I was going to do one chapter a day but birthday parties for screaming five year old's and babysitting till after midnight does not help me write, let alone think. But I had to get something up for all of you so here it is. Thanks for those who are reading and enjoying, and I hope you like this chapter! :-)


	5. To Hope or Not

Disclaimer: Oh so not mine.

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He was tired, he was hungry, he was dirty, but most of all he was bored. He wanted a shower, he wanted clean cloth's, he wanted out of this cell so he could go home. He didn't want to deal with these people anymore, he didn't want to be on this planet anymore, and he certainly didn't want to be sacrificed. Daniel and himself had managed to get the ropes off of their wrist's, and while Daniel calmly sat against the wall with his eye's closed, Jack couldn't. He could not sit still. He had paced the length of the cell more time then even Daniel could have counted, if he had been paying attention. He had way too much energy running through him. He had went through all the different variables, all the different scenarios, nothing. Nothing had come to mind on how to get out of this situation. They certainly weren't getting out of this cell on their own. When they had gotten their wrist's free, that was the first thing they tried. Even if they could somehow get the door open, there were guard's on either end of the hall. Jack's mind was going a mile a minute, to him it seemed as though thought's and ideas were trying to run a marathon in his head. He was frustrated, because there wasn't anything he could do. He didn't like not having anything to keep him occupied. Heck, right now he would settle for listening to one of Daniel's lecture's, if it meant getting out of here. As this thought ran through his mind he heard the sound of marching feet once again coming toward them. He looked over at Daniel and saw him standing up.

"How are we going to handle this?" Daniel asked him.

"Just play it cool. Act like your sorry and that you didn't know the rule's of the game. Hopefully they'll understand, have mercy, and let us go." Jack said this with as much confidence as he could muster. He knew that Daniel had the ability to talk anyone into anything, but everyone had their limits. Jack had a feeling this was one of those times. Oh not because of Daniel, but because of the leader. He didn't seem all that open to listening or compromise.

Jack had moved to stand next to Daniel by the wall as the leader arrived at the door with his guards behind him. This time he didn't order anyone to open the door. He stood there and looked at both Jack and Daniel. He slowly nodded his head, as if coming to some sort of decision. As he spoke to Daniel, Jack watched him a little closer this time, and also kept and eye on Daniel. The man's voice seemed to have a harder edge to it then the last time. Jack notice Daniel stiffen his shoulder's and open his mouth to speak but the man's voice hardened even more, and even though Jack couldn't understand the language he knew this guy meant business. Daniel closed his mouth and continued to listen. After a few minute's the man stopped talking, turned and left. Never giving Daniel the chance to say a word.

"Well that went well." Jack said once everyone had left the hall. "So, what did he have to say?"

"They had a town meeting. The vote was unanimous. We're to be sacrificed at sunrise. Tomorrow. That's three hour's from now." As Daniel said this he slid down the wall, with his knee's up he folded his arms on them and rested his head on his arms. Jack's legs seemed to decided that Daniel had a good idea and folded under him without thought. Jack knocked his head on the wall behind him.

"Crap." That was all that came to mind. Before the leader had come he couldn't stop his mind from thinking. Now he couldn't think of anything. He wasn't sure he wanted to.

"I'm sorry Jack. I should have tried harder. I should have spoke up, maybe I could have got through to him. I," Daniel hadn't even lifted his head. Jack decided to stop him before he went too far down the guilt tracks.

"No Daniel. Don't. I was right here, that man wasn't going to listen to a word you said. You could have talked till you were blue in the face, and I know it takes a lot for that to happen to you, but it wouldn't have mattered. He wasn't going to budge. You saw him, before he even said a word, he had already made up his mind. You couldn't have done anything. No one could have." Jack rested his hand on Daniels back as he spoke. Trying to convey to him that he meant what he said. And that he didn't blame him. Daniel looked at Jack, and Jack looked back. A '_thank you_' and a '_your welcome_' were passed between the two with no words needed to be spoken aloud. They were going to get through this no matter what. They had each other and that was all they needed.

* * *

"Incoming wormhole." The sound of the Gate activating was as loud as the klaxons.

"Who is it Walter?" General Hammond asked. No one was suppose to be coming home yet.

"It's SG-1's iris code Sir."

"Open the Gate son."

"Yes Sir."

As the General headed down he stairs he thought to himself, 'Let's just hope Jack got bored of babysitting Doctor Jackson and all his artifact's and decided to come home early'. Something told him that wasn't going to be the case. As he walked into the Gate room Sam and Teal'c came through breathing hard as if they had run a four forty a dozen times over. As they came down the ramp the Gate closed behind them. '_Oh no_, here we go', the General thought.

"Major, Teal'c, where are Colonel O'Neill and Doctor Jackson?"

"We don't know Sir."

"What?"

"General Hammond we request reinforcement so that we may go back and continue our search." Teal'c didn't want to waste any time in going back to the planet. The General stood in shocked silence for a split second before he turned and looked up at Walter in the control room.

"Walter get as many teams gathered as you can. Have them report to the Gate room in half an hour."

"Yes Sir." Walter replied as he practically ran from the control room.

"Now let's head up to the briefing room and you can explain to me exactly what is going on."

* * *

General Hammond stood on the ramp facing the teams Walter had managed to gather. It always impressed him how fast Walter could get thing's done. Though this was SG-1. All Walter would have had to do was tell one person that they needed help and in five minute's the whole base would have known. 'That's probably what he did'. The General thought as Doctor Frasier came in with a medic trailing along with two bags behind his back. There was a total of five teams. Twenty four people in total when you included Major Carter, Teal'c, Doctor Frasier and her assistant. The General looked at all of them and not for the first time he wished he could go with them.

"Okay people listen up. Colonel O'Neill and Doctor Jackson have been missing close to five hours now. What we know is that they were in a building full of artifact's. They seem to have made it to the entrance and that's were their feet print end. Along with a lot of other print's that don't belong to anyone we know. There is no sign as to which direction they may have been taken in. There are sign's that they may be hurt. We do not know what is out there, we do not know what we may find. This is a rescue mission, I'm not going to order any of you to go on the basis that this mission could be dangerous." He had barely finished his last sentence when every person in the room stepped forward. One Marine in the front spoke up,

"General Hammond Sir, you don't have to ask, we all volunteered and I know there is at least four more teams ready to go if need be."

"Thank you Major Cullens. Walter, dial it up, let's bring our people home."

"Yes Sir General." As the Gate spun around and Walter called out the activation sequence, Hammond stood next to Sam.

"Good luck Major, I know that your going to find them."

"Thank you General. I just hope it's in time."

"Chevron Seven Locked." As the wormhole activated Teal'c led the way with Major Cater bringing up the rear. As she got to the top of the ramp the General called out to her and she turned around.

"God speed Sam." After a sloppy two finger salute like the Colonel did on occasion, and with the General returning it, she smiled then turned and went through the Gate. Ready to bring her boys home.

* * *

AN: Hope you all like, these last two chapter's have been really fun to write. The next one may take more then a day to get written, don't want to spoil it but I'm planing a little more action for our two boy's! Just haven't decided how to fit it all together yet. As always thanks for reading and if you liked it let me know :-)


	6. Searching for a Thought

Disclaimer: Oh so not mine.

AN: I know I normally put this stuff on the bottom, but I wanted to apologize first for not getting this up sooner. Having the flu sucks. All I've done this week is sleep. And I wanted you to know you have all been great with review's and I have tried to apply what you have said. This chapter is short, because my head is not quite back to normal yet. But I had to give you all something. Though I'm not sure if I like the way this turned out. Oh well, hopefully over the weekend I can get more written. (If my headache will cooperate.)

Thank you so much for sticking with me. If you like, let me know. Hope you enjoy :-)

* * *

As he sat and stared at the wall's around him he thought about all the other times he and his friends had been in these kinds of situations. About all the times the Goa'uld had held them captive. All the times they had snuck onto a Goa'uld ship, been caught, and then been held captive. About every time they had escaped. All the times they had been hurt in the process of trying to escape. The thought of being captured didn't bother him so much as the getting hurt part. He himself didn't mind getting hurt as long as he could keep his friends safe. It didn't seem like that was going to happen this time.

His friend was stretched out next to him sleeping. When they had been captured both had been hit over the head pretty good. Maybe sleeping with a head injury wasn't the smartest thing in the world, but hey, they were first on the list to be executed in the morning. They had come to the conclusion that they really didn't have much to lose. 'Though losing this headache would be a start'. He thought as he closed his eyes for a minute.

Thinking back to the moment they stepped through the Gate, to the moment they had been trapped by the natives, he tried to remember if there was anything he had missed. Any sign that would have told him they shouldn't be here. But there was nothing. He couldn't think of a single thing that would have indicated they had gone where they weren't aloud to be. For cryin' out loud, it wasn't like there were any No Trespassing signs posted.

Not being able to _do_ anything to get out of a bad situation was one thing. Something he had come to realize happens from time to time. He didn't like it but he could live with it. But the knowledge that there was nothing that _could be done_ to get out of a bad situation was something else entirely. How do you even begin to process that you can't do anything to save yourself. Worse yet, your best friend.

He stared at the door when he heard the sound of men marching towards their cell. Not for the first time he wished that there was something he could do. He looked down at his friend and before he shook his shoulder to wake him, he thought to himself,

_'I'm so sorry Jack'._

_

* * *

_

The way back to the structure where their teammates had vanished seemed to take forever. Sam had thought getting to the Gate was hard, but retuning was worse. She felt like it was taking too long, that they wouldn't get where they needed to be in time. Whether you have Marine, Army, or Air Force behind you, it didn't matter. With that many people you're going to move a little slower. They had moved at a fast pace for close to an hour before they stopped for a water break. Sam and Teal'c moved off to the side to be able to talk with each other without anyone else interrupting.

"We need to hurry Teal'c. I don't know why but I have this feeling that we're on a time table. If we don't get there before it runs out," She stopped and looked at Teal'c to see if he understood what she didn't want to say. Teal'c didn't reply with words. All he did was nod his head. He then turned and told everyone to get up. And with that they were moving again.

It took another hour and fifteen minutes to get to the structure. Sam quickly explained what they thought had happened and where they had searched before. All the teams split up and started a grid pattern search like Sam and Teal'c had previously. Hoping that they would find some clue as to where the missing men had gone. It didn't take long for the morning to start lighting the sky. The SG Teams were pleased that wouldn't need their flashlight's soon. Nobody knew what was in store for their missing friends when that sun rose, or else they would have been glad to keep using their flashlights.


	7. Time moves life

Disclaimer: Oh so not mine.

* * *

Their hands had been retied in front of them. Their boot's had been taken and replaced with the same type of sandals the natives were wearing. There was a total of fifteen men surrounding them. As they were led down the hallways they noticed that the structure was more then just a jail. They noticed the rooms began to get bigger and had regular doors on them. They looked inside and saw that these were homes. Families were living in these cell's. As their capture's led them up a flight of stairs they realized they still saw no windows. Everything was alight by candle's and flame. They came to the conclusion they had to be underground when the next level up still had no windows. After one more flight of stairs and another long hallway of room's packed with family belongings, they were led to a door. When the door was open there were stairs leading up. At the top of these stairs was another door. They were pushed up and when the top door was opened more men were waiting with spears.

"Wow. The sun's really bright today, isn't it?" Jack said trying to lighten the mood as he squinted his eye's. All he got was a glare from Daniel and every spear lifted a little higher. "Okay then, tough crowed." As Jack said this they were pushed forward and someone gruffly spoke to them. Even Jack could tell it was an order to walk. Both of them looked behind and saw no sign of a building. There was no sign of even the door they had come through. Jack and Daniel looked at each other and realized that even if reinforcements had come they wouldn't have found where they had been hid. Looking around neither of them saw any sign that their teammates were there or had been there. Both of their hearts sank a little at this, knowing that they had little time left. Even with help of their teammates it would be a challenge to escape without injury. Just the two of them trying to escape would be suicidal.

The natives marched them into the woods about a quarter of a mile from the underground structure. They came to a small clearing and their hearts sank even further. There was a stone block on the opposite side with the leader they had talked with last night standing next to it. In total there were estimated fifty natives surrounding them. The leader started speaking and Jack and Daniel were pushed forward. As they were placed in front of the stone both had men on each side holding their arms and one person behind them. As they were forced to their knees Jack felt the man behind him grab him by the back of his jacket and felt it being cut off of him. Jack saw out of the corner of his eye the same thing was happening to Daniel. Their hands were untied and the ripped jackets were taken off. The same thing then happened to their shirt's. The whole time this was going on the leader was talking.

"Daniel."

"Jack."

No other words were needed. They both knew what was about to happen and there was nothing either of them could do about it. Jack was held still and Daniel was pulled up. The leader had stopped taking and was handed two items. One Jack recognized right away, and the second was one he had wished he would never have to see in person. The way Daniel had described it and the way Jack had imagined it was just the way it looked. As six men forced Daniel to lie down on the stone block, Jack could not take his eye's off of the Salepter and Pontiar. The leader started to speak again, this time in a more chanting type tone.

"No." Jack tried to stand but was forced down by the men holding him. The natives all raised their spears. The leader moved to stand next to Daniel, his chanting never stopping. "Daniel." Jack whispered, looking into Daniels eye's with a pleading look of helplessness. Daniel looked back with the same look. Both wishing there was something either one could do but knowing there was not.

"Jack." Daniel whispered back. In that moment the leader stabbed Daniel in the side, right below his ribs with the Pontiar. Daniel kept his eyes locked with Jacks and tried to not cry out.

Where Jack was forced to kneel and where the leader was standing, he had a perfect view of what was happening to his best friend. Even without braking eye contact he could see his Daniels blood draining down through the Pontiar and into the Salepter. As Daniel's eyes started to lose focus Jack lost it. He couldn't be forced to kneel and watch his friend bleed to death. Jack tried to get up but even more men came to hold him. He was forced all the way down with his face in the dirt. He turned his head trying to be able to see what was happening to Daniel. What he found was several spears in his face.

After a minute Daniel was dropped next to him. Jack could see he was unconscious, but he was at least still breathing. He could see where Daniel had been stabbed. He also had cut's all over his chest which made Jacks blood boil even more then it was. He looked up at the leader with fury in his eyes. The leader stared back. Jack could see the leader had excepted what he had to do and done it. He showed no emotion at all. He began to speak and Jack was lifted up and forced onto the stone. Jack was not going to let them off easy. He struggled with everything he had. But the natives were not going to let him get what he wanted. One of them knocked him on the side of the head. Not enough to lose consciousness, but enough to stop his struggles. As the leader chanted, Jack turned to look at Daniel who had not moved even an eye lid.

"I'm so sorry Daniel." Jack whispered to his friend, knowing he couldn't hear him but feeling that it was something that needed to be said. As the leader stabbed the Pontiar into Jacks side, he couldn't help but cry out. He knew Daniel had not made a sound in an attempt to spare Jack some mental pain, but Jack had no reason to keep quiet. For one, he didn't care if these skirt wearing, spear holding natives thought he was weak. Not that he was, but that wasn't the point. Two, Daniel was unconscious and couldn't hear him. If he had been, Jack may have tried to stay silent for the same reason Daniel had. Reason three was the most important in Jacks mind. He wanted to make as much noise as possible. If anyone from the SGC was anywhere near by, he was going to make sure they heard him. Even as he felt the blood draining from his body and himself growing weaker he kept screaming. He knew his team was looking for them. They had to be.

* * *

About two miles from the building Teal'c found what they had all been searching for. They followed the tracks for close to three miles and came to a clearing. There were feet print all over the area leading every which way. Yet again they all spread out to see if they could find which way their friends had gone in. As they searched they heard a blood curdling scream. Everyone stood frozen for a moment. Then as the trained Military they were, they all went in the direction of the screaming. Everyone spread out so that when they got to where they needed to be they would have a better chance of surrounding what was in store. The closer they all got the softer the screaming became. Soon the sound stopped all together. The group saw another clearing. As they went to surround it they only saw three things. One was a stone block. The other two were their missing friends lying on the ground next to each other. As Sam and Teal'c ran to their teammates the rest of the teams kept watch. The only thought's running through Teal'c and Sam's mind was 'were we to late.' For their friends were not moving.

* * *

AN: Here you all go. First day off in over a week and finally a chance to write again. This was a hard chapter to write but I like it better then the last one I posted. I hope you all do too. Let me know what you think! Thank's for sticking with me! :-)


	8. Saving heals

_Disclaimer: Oh so not mine. All mistakes are so don't shoot me for how I spell._

_For anyone still reading this, all I can do is apologize. Life went psycho roller-coster for a while. When it slowed down enough to write for some reason I couldn't get back into this story. I thought writing something else might help. It didn't, but I wanted to get this done so I hope this doesn't sound to rushed. I tried so many times to finish this and nothing worked, so I finally just sat and wrote. This is what came out of it._

_The only medical knowledge I have is from watching Emergency! So, not much. Mainly cause I spent the time watching Johnny and Roy instead of listening to them : ) So that is why I skipped most of the technical stuff. Anyway, here's the story._

* * *

Sam had ran over to the Colonel while Teal'c ran over to Daniel. "Colonel, can you hear me?" She asked as Janet knelt down beside her and felt for his pulse.

"He's alive Sam." Janet let out a breath she didn't realize she had been holding. She checked Jack over and then pulled out a pressure bandage from her bag and applied it to his side.

"Doctor Frazier? Can you come here a moment?" Her assistant asked from where he was kneeling next to Daniel. Teal'c had Daniels head on his knee and was carding his hand thru Daniels hair. He had his head bent so that his forehead was almost touching Daniels and he was whispering to him in another language. Janet's assistant had the blood pressure cuff around Daniels arm and had a frown on his face as he looked at her. 'To low' he mouthed trying not to disturb Teal'c while he also grab a pressure bandage and handed it to Janet. She placed it on Daniels side as she had with Jack and yelled for someone to grab the stretcher's and get them ready. She told her assistant to get Jack ready and get him on an IV, as she check Daniel over herself.

"Janet." Came Sam's whisper from behind her. She turned to look at her and saw on Sam's face what she couldn't ask.

"They're not good Sam. I wont lie to you. But if we get them back as soon as we can," Janet paused for a minute and took a deep breath, "It's up to them Sam, they're strong, they should be okay. I'll do everything in my power to make sure they're okay."

"I know. Thanks Janet. What can I do to help?"

"You can help with the Colonel, alright?"

"Yeah, I can do that." Janet once again sighed as she turned back to Daniel. She didn't know what had happened but both of them had lost to much blood. And there was nothing she could do about that until she got back to base. As she hooked Daniel up with an IV she saw Teal'c watching her.

"He'll be okay Teal'c, it's Daniel. He's always okay."

"Indeed he will be Doctor Frazier. As you told Major Carter, they are very strong. I have no doubt that they will survive." Janet smiled at Teal'c and nodded her head, as a Marine came over to help put Daniel on a stretcher.

* * *

The trip back to the Gate was long and hard. They kept stoping to replace both Daniel's and Jack's IV's. Since Janet had no blood for them she needed to keep them as hydrated as possible. On the third stop Jack came around. "Colonel, can you hear me? It's Doctor Frazier."

"Doc?"

"Yes Colonel can you stay awake for a minute?"

"Daniel? Where's Danny?" Jack mumbled, cracking his eyes open and tossing his head from side to side trying to find Daniel.

"He's right here Sir." Janet said as she moved out of the way for Jack to be able to see him. "He's doing as well as he can be. We just need to get the two of you back to base." Janet said knowing that was going to be the next thing out of the Colonels mouth.

"Salepter." Jack mumbled as he stared at Daniel as if to make sure he was really there.

"What was that Sir?" Sam asked as she knelt down next to him.

" Salepter, Pontiar." Jacks eye's closed as he said this.

"Colonel what's a Slepter and Pointer?" Sam asked trying to keep him awake.

"No, Sal-ep-ter, and Pont-iar. Used to, sacrifice, blood." Jack breathed each word still with his eyes closed.

"How much Colonel?" Janet asked trying to figure out how much time they were dealing with before things really went down hill for her patients.

"Lots. Daniel, concussion, 'fore. Doc, tired, sleep now?"

"Yes Colonel. You can rest now, we'll have you back at the SGC in no time." Janet replied as she checked both IV's.

"Janet? Is it okay to let him sleep?"

"He need's the rest, so yes. But we need to get back, fast. Okay everyone, let's move out."

* * *

It had taken to long in Janet's book to get back to the SGC. Both Jack and Daniels vitals had drop to low. As soon as they were thru the wormhole she was barking order's at everyone she could see. Having blood transfusions and O.R.'s ready by the time she got her patients down to the Infirmary. Sam and Teal'c just stood at the end of the ramp as all the other teams headed out to change.

"Major, Teal'c, are you alright?" General Hammond asked.

"We will be fine General Hammond. We wish to shower and change, then wait for news of O'Neill and Daniel Jackson before a briefing though."

"I think that would be acceptable. Go, I'll be down in a little while." Teal'c gently grabbed Sam's arm as he led her out of the Gate room.

Sam, Teal'c and General Hammond had sat outside the Infirmary for five hours with no news. Finally Janet came out of the door's and they all stood up.

"They're both alive." She said with a tired smile.

"Oh thank goodness." Sam breathed as she slid back down into the chair.

"Now they do have a long way's to go. They lost a lot of blood, and what ever they were stabbed with caused some internal injuries, but we got it all under control." She reassured them. "They will probably sleep thru the rest of the night if not tomorrow too. It would be better for them to sleep for as long as possible to let their bodies heal. Both of them needed two blood transfusions and I'm still going to keep a close eye on Daniel to see if he needs anymore, since he was more cut up than the Colonel. Both of them are at risk of infection, so we have them on a strong antibiotic. They do have a slight fever at the moment but that's to be expected." Janet paused for a moment. "Do you have any questions?"

"Can we see them?" Sam asked.

"Of course. Just don't stay to long, you both need your rest too." Janet showed them to where Jack and Daniel were. Daniel was in his normal bed with Jack to his left. Sam went and sat in between them and grab the hands she could reach. Teal'c stood at the end of the beds in the middle, as if guarding his friends.

"Are they going to be alright Doctor?" The General asked. Janet looked at him as she replied.

"Bearing any unforeseen complications and as long as we can keep their wounds from getting infected, yes they will be just fine."

* * *

True to her word both Jack and Daniel's wounds healed with just the slightest of problems. They had developed infections from the stabbing but it responded well to the antibiotics Janet kept pumping into them.

They were still in the Infirmary after two weeks. Jack was going nut's not being able to leave, he had a hockey game he wanted to go to, and Daniel wanted nothing more than to go to his lab and get some work done, since Janet wouldn't let him have his Laptop.

Today Sam and Teal'c were visiting and Daniel was telling them all about what happened and the cultural significance, and what other cultures used people as sacrifices. Finally Jack couldn't take it anymore.

"Daniel."

"Jack."

"No more talking. Got it."

"Yes Jack."

There was silence in the infirmary. Jack trying not to think about being stabbed and bleeding to death, and Daniel still thinking about how many other cultures had similar practices. They all sat in silence for a good minute, Sam and Teal'c both trying not to laugh, before Jack couldn't take it anymore, "So, now what?"

* * *

_AN: So there you go. It's not exactly how I had wanted to finish it but, I needed to get it done and off my conscience. I couldn't stand not having it finished. I hope you all enjoyed._


End file.
